UNC Freshman Anthony Harris out for year with torn ACL

[DavidBenAkiva]

News out of Chapel Hill this morning is bad. Anthony Harris, the freshman guard, tore his ACL during the Yale game. I was watching that in hopes that Yale would pull it out (missed a decent look at 3 at the end of the game that would have tied it) and figured as much when Harris went down. It was a non-contact injury where his knee just went out. This injury was his right knee. He had a left knee ACL tear in high school. The old Harry Giles special, if you will. Terrible news.

This leaves a tenuous guard situation in Chapel Hill even more so. Jeremiah Francis is now the only nominal PG available until Cole Anthony returns. I expect that KJ Smitih, a junior transfer, will get some minutes. Andrew Platek has been banged up, as has Leaky Black and Brandon Robinson at times this season. Christian Keeling has under-performed, to say the least. The guards in Chapel Hill have been inconsistent at best. They really need Cole Anthony back at full health ASAP.

[OldPhiKap]

News out of Chapel Hill this morning is bad. Anthony Harris, the freshman guard, tore his ACL during the Yale game. I was watching that in hopes that Yale would pull it out (missed a decent look at 3 at the end of the game that would have tied it) and figured as much when Harris went down. It was a non-contact injury where his knee just went out. This injury was his right knee. He had a left knee ACL tear in high school. The old Harry Giles special, if you will. Terrible news.

This leaves a tenuous guard situation in Chapel Hill even more so. Jeremiah Francis is now the only nominal PG available until Cole Anthony returns. I expect that KJ Smitih, a junior transfer, will get some minutes. Andrew Platek has been banged up, as has Leaky Black and Brandon Robinson at times this season. Christian Keeling has under-performed, to say the least. The guards in Chapel Hill have been inconsistent at best. They really need Cole Anthony back at full health ASAP.

Very sorry to hear this, I wish Harris a full recovery.

[JasonEvans]

Anthony Harris and Jeremiah Francis had really stepped up the past few games since Anthony went down. Harris was averaging close to 10ppg and hitting 50% of his 3s over the past 3 games. Make no mistake, on a team that struggles to shoot outside this is a real blow for the Heels. As has been noted elsewhere, the next 8 games of Carolina's schedule are really easy and are must-wins while Anthony recovers because the back half of the schedule is murder (as much as it can be in the weakened ACC this year). Carolina really cannot afford more than maybe 1 or 2 losses in their next 8 games or their odds of being a tourney team take a real hit.

-Jason "Ga Tech, Pitt, and Clemson... all at home... in the next week. Must go 3-0 in those games, I think" Evans

[MChambers]

News out of Chapel Hill this morning is bad. Anthony Harris, the freshman guard, tore his ACL during the Yale game. I was watching that in hopes that Yale would pull it out (missed a decent look at 3 at the end of the game that would have tied it) and figured as much when Harris went down. It was a non-contact injury where his knee just went out. This injury was his right knee. He had a left knee ACL tear in high school. The old Harry Giles special, if you will. Terrible news.

This leaves a tenuous guard situation in Chapel Hill even more so. Jeremiah Francis is now the only nominal PG available until Cole Anthony returns. I expect that KJ Smitih, a junior transfer, will get some minutes. Andrew Platek has been banged up, as has Leaky Black and Brandon Robinson at times this season. Christian Keeling has under-performed, to say the least. The guards in Chapel Hill have been inconsistent at best. They really need Cole Anthony back at full health ASAP.

Tough break, even for a Heel. Hoping for a full recovery for Mr. Harris.

[tecumseh]

UNC guard Anthony Harris it has been confirmed tore his ACL and is out for the year big blow with super fresh Cole Anthony already out. If UNC a disaster does Cole Anthony even return and risk another injury? BTW Anthony Harris was just back from tearing the ACL in the other knee last year.

[CDu]

UNC guard Anthony Harris it has been confirmed tore his ACL and is out for the year big blow with super fresh Cole Anthony already out. If UNC a disaster does Cole Anthony even return and risk another injury? BTW Anthony Harris was just back from tearing the ACL in the other knee last year.

Who knows? None of us can know what Anthony is thinking. Only time will tell.

That said, it doesn’t matter; UNC isn’t very good this year, with or without Anthony.

[BD80]

UNC guard Anthony Harris it has been confirmed tore his ACL and is out for the year big blow with super fresh Cole Anthony already out. If UNC a disaster does Cole Anthony even return and risk another injury? BTW Anthony Harris was just back from tearing the ACL in the other knee last year.

I really want to be as petty as unc fans have been with respect to Duke's injury issues, but I can't.

Most of Carolina's basketball players are good kids, and it seems like this is true for Harris. I can't imagine the frustration of battling back from one ACL tear, only to suffer another.

Best wishes to him.

To Hell with carolina.

[SkyBrickey]

UNC guard Anthony Harris it has been confirmed tore his ACL and is out for the year big blow with super fresh Cole Anthony already out. If UNC a disaster does Cole Anthony even return and risk another injury? BTW Anthony Harris was just back from tearing the ACL in the other knee last year.

You never want to see a kid get hurt. I hope he makes a full recovery. The rumor is out there that Anthony is not coming back and could you really blame his as a lock for a top 5 pick when his team has little chance of making the NCAA tourney?

Missing the tourney could really hurt them on the recruiting trail. Go to UNC and compete for NIT championships or go to Duke or Kentucky or even NC State and compete for NCAA championships. Just when they got that cheating scandal behind them. So sad for their fanbase...

[OldPhiKap]

I hope Harris has a full recovery.

Cole will be back, likely before the first Duke game February 8th.

[53n206]

OldPhiKap: "Just when they got that cheating scandal behind them. So sad for their fanbase..."

Who says it's behind them

[TKG]

Missing the tourney could really hurt them on the recruiting trail. Go to UNC and compete for NIT championships or go to Duke or Kentucky or even NC State and compete for NCAA championships. Just when they got that cheating scandal behind them. So sad for their fanbase...

I am all broken up.

[tecumseh]

Harry Giles who it looks like is soon out of NBA

https://www.sactownroyalty.com/2019/11/1/20943356/sacramento-kings-are-effectively-bailing-on-the-harry-giles-project

[freshmanjs]

Harry Giles who it looks like is soon out of NBA

https://www.sactownroyalty.com/2019/11/1/20943356/sacramento-kings-are-effectively-bailing-on-the-harry-giles-project

That article is 2 months old and doesn’t address the prospects for giles to get another shot if he leaves Sacramento. Too early to conclude he won’t.

[UrinalCake]

Really a tough break for him and for the team. He was actually starting to play reasonably well over the past could games, all things considered. Once upon a time we were recruiting him and were disappointed when he chose VT. Hopefully he comes back healthy next season, I’m looking forward to Ant versus Roach in the battle of the bugs.

[JasonEvans]

Harry Giles who it looks like is soon out of NBA

https://www.sactownroyalty.com/2019/11/1/20943356/sacramento-kings-are-effectively-bailing-on-the-harry-giles-project

That article is from early November and since then Giles has had a fairly long string of DNP-CD and even inactive games. The Kings have some fairly solid depth up front so he really only plays when someone is hurt (and Bagley has been hurt a good bit this season). I'm still not clear on why the Kings elected to pay Dwayne Deadmon $40 mil (3 years) in the off-season but he has been grousing about playing time in the post too (he was just fined for openly requesting a trade). Bottom line, it is hard for him to get chances in Sacto.

Anyway, when Giles plays he does ok, but nothing special. His numbers are down from what they were last year when he showed flashes of promise, but much of that is decreased playing time. His scoring per 36 minutes is about the same as last year (16.5 pp36 vs 17.9 pp36) but the rebounding has fallen off somewhat significantly (9.7 rp36 vs 5.9 rp36). That said, I don't think he will be out of the league next year. I strongly suspect some team will want him around if only to see if he can continue to get healthy and find some of the form that made him the top player in high school basketball.

-Jason "that said, Giles will be at about $6.5 mil in career earnings after this season... I hope he has been saving/investing a decent chunk of it thus far" Evans

[OldPhiKap]

OldPhiKap: "Just when they got that cheating scandal behind them. So sad for their fanbase..."

Who says it's behind them

SkyBrickey gets the credit for that line, not moi. (And btw, "SkyBrickey" is one of my favorite poster names on DBR)

[UrinalCake]

The rumor is out there that Anthony is not coming back and could you really blame his as a lock for a top 5 pick when his team has little chance of making the NCAA tourney?

Kevin Porter is the perfect cautionary tale for Anthony. Top-5 player out of high school, got hurt very early in the season, managed to recover enough to be able to play in late February and wanted to help his team get into the tournament and maybe even make a run but wasn’t 100%. He didn’t look good while playing, suffered further injuries leading up to the draft, and fell all the way to the end of the first round.

[Barnstormer]

I wonder if they will pull up one time Duke commit Chaz Surratt from the football team to play guard. Wasn't that one of the reasons he decommitted from Duke to play for the Cheaters?

[DukieInKansas]

I hope he has a complete recovery.

[SkyBrickey]

Here's Giles stat line from his Dec 29 game against the Nuggets:

17 min
11 pts
3 reb
3 assts
1 stl
1 blk

He may be out of the Kings, but I don't think he's out of the league. Another team will give him a shot as well as he played for much of last year.

[TKG]

I wonder if they will pull up one time Duke commit Chaz Surratt from the football team to play guard. Wasn't that one of the reasons he decommitted from Duke to play for the Cheaters?

Perhaps he thought he chances at a Rhodes would be easier in Chapel Hill; or was it a Roads?

[Music man55]

I hate it that the kid Anthony Harris injured his other knee. I wish him a full and speedy recovery. As far as will Cole Anthony return? No one knows the answer to that, but I don't think it will matter when Duke plays them. I think we will beat the cheats no matter who suits up for Roy this year. Cheats just don't have the fire power this year Like they normally are used to.

[slower]

I feel zero shame in admitting that this is the first time I've ever heard of the kid.

[kAzE]

I feel zero shame in admitting that this is the first time I've ever heard of the kid.

I remember him from when Duke briefly recruited him. He even posted a picture of himself on Twitter in a Duke uniform: https://twitter.com/MANZANT3/status/1046560702817808387?s=20

Best of luck to the kid getting back healthy.

[cato]

I feel zero shame in admitting that this is the first time I've ever heard of the kid.

First, I feel very bad for Anthony Harris. Athletic prowess is fleeting — I hope he comes back full strength.

Second, if you told me that UNC’s Harris was out with a knee injury and then offered me $1mm to guess his first name, I would come out of the exchange none the wealthier.

[dm9e24]

Just makes we pray even harder that Roach doesn't have the same issues after his torn ACL.

[jv001]

I hope Anthony Harris comes back 100% healthy. I don't like to see any kids get injured, even the cheat school players.

GoDuke!

[richardjackson199]

First, I feel very bad for Anthony Harris. Athletic prowess is fleeting — I hope he comes back full strength.

Second, if you told me that UNC’s Harris was out with a knee injury and then offered me $1mm to guess his first name, I would come out of the exchange none the wealthier.

And probably most cheat fans wouldn't do much better. I wish Anthony Harris a speedy and full recovery. I hate all injuries.

But somebody should have broken this story with a click-bait headline of UNC Freshman Anthony our for Year with torn ACL.

you know - just to mess with those cheating bastards

[Steven43]

Who knows? None of us can know what Anthony is thinking. Only time will tell.

That said, it doesn’t matter; UNC isn’t very good this year, with or without Anthony.
Very true, CDu. But, Anthony might choose to return to playing for the Heels and that could — not will, but COULD — make them very dangerous in both the ACC and NCAA tournaments.

[richardjackson199]

Very true, CDu. But, Anthony might choose to return to playing for the Heels and that could — not will, but COULD — make them very dangerous in both the ACC and NCAA tournaments.

Definitely when Anthony returns nobody is going to want to face the cheats in the NIT.

cheats looked good

[Steven43]

Definitely when Anthony returns nobody is going to want to face the cheats in the NIT.

cheats looked good

Even with a subpar record they could win the ACC Tournament, which would automatically qualify them for the NCAA Tournament. It’s not really all that far-fetched, particularly if Anthony comes back and gets hot from three and is creating easy baskets for his teammates. He is a major talent regardless of how he has played thus far. And I still think Roy is a very good coach. I never take him lightly.

[subzero02]

Here's Giles stat line from his Dec 29 game against the Nuggets:

17 min
11 pts
3 reb
3 assts
1 stl
1 blk

He may be out of the Kings, but I don't think he's out of the league. Another team will give him a shot as well as he played for much of last year.

If only he could change the trajectory of his career by playing for a team coached by his dad...

[CDu]

Just makes we pray even harder that Roach doesn't have the same issues after his torn ACL.

Good news is that Roach has been back playing for about a month. Hopefully he will remain healthy and will have a full season under his belt by the time he arrives in Durham.

[dukejim1]

I wonder if they will pull up one time Duke commit Chaz Surratt from the football team to play guard. Wasn't that one of the reasons he decommitted from Duke to play for the Cheaters?

Probably not happening since due to his position change he has a realistic shot at being a NFL player.

[arnie]

Probably not happening since due to his position change he has a realistic shot at being a NFL player.

The above is a silly post🤗. The world revolves around Ole Roy and if its best for Roy and cheats, Chaz should play b-ball. The pro careers of Surratt, Bacot and Anthony are irrelevant to planet rotation,